Siddhant Steels Vs State of Chhattisgarh (Chhattisgarh High Court)
In a significant ruling for taxpayers facing compliance issues, the Chhattisgarh High Court has directed the adjustment of a Goods and Services Tax (GST) deposit made by a firm during a departmental inspection. The petitioner, Siddhant Steels, had sought a refund of an alleged excess deposit of Rs. 10,91,539.45 that was made during a proceeding under Section 71 of the State Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017. The case, Siddhant Steels vs. State of Chhattisgarh, was heard as a writ petition under Article 226 of the Constitution of India.
The dispute originated from a tax inspection conducted by GST officers on the premises of Siddhant Steels on March 19, 2025. Following the inspection, a panchnama was prepared, and a show cause notice was issued to the firm’s proprietor on March 20, 2025. The notice proposed the cancellation of the firm’s GST registration, alleging that it was obtained by means of “fraud and willful misstatement or suppression of facts,” and categorizing it as a “BOGUS DEALER.”
On March 21, 2025, the proprietor’s statement was officially recorded. During this process, he declared an unpaid tax liability of Rs. 1,08,461. However, on the same day, the proprietor claimed he was coerced into depositing Rs. 12 lakh in cash through GST DRC-03, a form used for making voluntary payments of tax, interest, penalty, or any other amount. Soon after, on March 24, 2025, the authorities dropped the proceedings for cancellation of the firm’s registration.
